We Are Fewer But With More Problems

We Are Fewer But With More Problems / Jorge Olivera Castillo
Posted on September 10, 2013

HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – Raul Castro and those
accompanying him in the exercise of power don't give a damn about the
unstoppable population decrease in Cuba. Faced with this unfortunate
prediction, revealed by National Bureau of Statistics and Information
(ONEI), we confirm once again that the government has no sense of the
nation which, without a hint of modesty, it continues to call revolutionary.

The reluctance of the women to bring children into the world, clear from
the high rate of abortions, has its foundation in the socio-economic
problems. In addition to the depressed wages we have rising unemployment
and the inability to choose a house or apartment with the minimum
standards of livability. Currently, the deficit amounts to more than a
million homes.

The current environment favors alienation and marginalization,
especially among young people, who tend to see their future away from
the land of their birth. The preference for emigrating abroad is also
another cause underlying the predictions of a marked decline in the
population.

According to the government agency that brought to light details of the
issues, By 2030 Cuba will have 10,904,985 inhabitants. Comparing this
number to the current population, the decrease exceeds a quarter million
people since the most recent census conducted last year, which counted
11,163,934 Cubans.

The consequences of such a reduction in a depopulated country, given
that Cuba has a land area of 42,400 square miles, will be unpredictable.
Extreme poverty , increase in prostitution and trafficking of drugs,
decay of social services, among other high-impact phenomena in the lives
of the majority of the people. Of course the heaviest part of the burden
will fall on the shoulders of Cuba's elderly. Many will not be able to
endure the stifling conditions.

The symptoms of Social Darwinism are accelerated to the extent that the
foundations of real socialism are dismantled. The extreme
nationalization, characterized by arbitrary prohibitions, voluntarism
and enlarging the bureaucracy to a scale never before seen, have been
the main triggers for a series of anomalies that have ruined the economy
and social fabric.

The worst news is the fact that there are no reasonable methods to
reverse the situation. The circle of power is still committed to
delaying a transition to facilitate the rearrangements necessary so that
the country will not to fall into chaos. The economic changes
implemented lack vision that is viable and pragmatic rather than
obstructionist.

While the end for Raul Castro and his entourage is their conservation as
a political class, nothing can be expected beyond the news compels them
to take refuge in the most remote areas of pessimism.

In 2030 we will be fewer people with many more dilemmas to solve. The
culprits of the disaster set back the clock of history at their
convenience. So far, unfortunately, they have been lucky in their maneuvers.

Jorge Olivera Castillo – oliverajorge75@yahoo.com

From Cubanet

9 September 2013

Source: "We Are Fewer But With More Problems / Jorge Olivera Castillo |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/we-are-fewer-but-with-more-problems-jorge-olivera-castillo/